In the packaging of articles, such as canned beer, soft drinks and the like, various types of carriers have been employed, generally in the form of cartons, with provision for accepting a predetermined number of the cans, for example, six, eight or twelve, arranged in row formation. The prior cartons have almost invariably had, and continue to have, rectangular walls and hence are generally cubic in appearance. Consequently, beverage producers such as brewers must rely only on carton decoration to differentiate their products from those of others. One type of such packaging container or carrier which has been employed has been in the form of an open ended tube or sleeve with provision for retaining the cans against excessive movement therein or accidental removal through the open ends. In another packaging arrangement tubular packaging containers have been provided which have some means for closing the ends, either wholly or in part, so as to confine the cans and prevent accidental removal from the package. Where end and also top panel closures have been employed, sealing, generally with hot melt adhesives, has generally proven to be costly in terms of material and the skilled labour required. In addition, there are known in the art, many examples of beverage cartons which have an article dispenser arrangement for providing access through an opening from which articles in the carton may be removed. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,894,681; 4,364,509; 5,368,196 and 6,478,219 described cartons which provide a tear strip to gain access to the articles in the carton. Such an arrangement has a number of disadvantages. For example, during use, the board material surrounding the opening formed by removal of a tear strip usually from an end and a side wall often tears, assuming the lines of perforation function correctly in first place. Problems also arise because the tear strip includes part of both a side wall and an associated end wall and this can cause loss of structural rigidity which can cause problems when the carton is reused to return the empty carton to a recycling facility. Another example of cartons having an article dispensing features include that described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,944,128 where provision is made for part of a center wall to angle outwardly from its associated vertical wall so as to form a spout or trough through which articles can be extracted. This is a relatively complex and expensive system and can have difficulties with heavy articles such as beverage-filled cans. Other examples of this type include cutouts in the side walls adjacent the trough to allow an article to be extracted.
Finally, the tab used in these cartons to initiate the tear sequence to form the strip or trough is often not convenient to use. Usually this tab is pressed into the carton to enable it subsequently to be grasped and pulled. However, the initial pressing step frequently results in the carton walls deforming and tearing but not along the desired lines. Finally, the initial pushing of the tab action may be hindered or even rendered ineffective by the shape and location of the carton contents. In summary, the prior cartons have generally left something to be desired and have proven to be inconvenient and unreliable.
It is an objective of the present invention to provide a secondary carton for containing a plurality of primary containers which container has two opposing side walls which are not rectangular and as a consequence, the carton is conspicuous and stands out from the usual rectangular shaped cartons containing competitive products.
It is another objective of the present invention to provide a container which has an improved convenient dispensing feature for the enclosed primary containers.